It’s common knowledge that feedback is crucial for writers, but it’s not always easy. This is one of my personal experiences with it.
After working on The Crowned of Nightingale for over ten years, you would think I had perfected everything by then. But the reality was that a lot of my time spent writing was practice, and I had not received a lot of feedback on my work.
But after many, many hours of “practice” my book was finally where I wanted it to be. Sort of. I had that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that some scenes didn’t add up, and I wondered if the ending had the emotional payoff I was going for. I sure hoped it did. But I knew that hiring a professional editor was going to be the next step if I wanted something that could succeed. My girlfriend–now wife–met an editor at Realm Makers (a Christian writers of speculative fiction conference). I got connected with the editor, received a sample, and decided to go for it.
What I got back was a better version of my story, along with a gut punch. “Your ending feels like a Dues Ex Machina.”
In Romans 2, the author, Paul says “you who pass judgment do the same things.” This was me. After complaining for years about bad endings in video games and books, I had written a bad ending.
This wasn’t the only critique. Trust me, there was plenty more. But this one was the big one.
However, something amazing started to happen. I took a breath and took in the critique. I didn’t argue with it. I knew my editor was right. Even though I had re-written the first chapter dozens of times (literally), something about having outside feedback shook me out of my writer’s block and filled me with inspiration. I decided it was go time. For better or for worse, I was going to re-write major sections of the book, mostly the first four chapters but beyond that as well.
Starting with the beginning, I finally wrote an opening I was proud of. The nagging in the back of my mind went away. I looked at the changes and felt proud of it. I worked in more ways throughout the book to foreshadow the ending and tie it in. I added more consequences for the main character, more flaws, more growth. Funny enough, the ending didn’t change all that much, but what did was my main character’s journey to get to that end.
My editor had included in her scope a final line edit once I was done making changes. So with her feedback, and some feedback from beta readers, I made all the changes and sent it back to her. She was floored. The emotional payoff at the end WORKED. No more deus ex machina. A satisfying finish to a great story.
I thank God for bringing me this editor and for the inspiration He gave me. Some might wonder “why didn’t God just help you get it right the first time?” It’s a fair question, and I can’t say I have the answer, but I do have a few good guesses.
-God designed us to work with others, not be alone. Relationships strengthen us.
-Me being part of a community of writers is more important to God than it is that I can do it all on my own.
-God is a fan of the long game. He is very patient getting us to where we need to go. I wanted to publish when I was 20. I’m 33 now, but God has not abandoned me or my work.
Getting feedback is rarely easy. My editor was kind enough to point out the things I did well, but she did not pull her punches on key improvements I needed to make.
Also, when someone is blunt with you about what’s wrong, you know you can trust them when they tell you, “this is good. Well done.”
I encourage everyone to seek out good feedback and to be willing to give it in return. We will always be better together than alone.
